Yahoo Finance Uber Mideast Unit Sells Stake in Super App to Largest UAE Telco
(Bloomberg) -- Emirates Telecommunications Group will buy a $400 million stake in the super app developed by Uber Technologies Inc.’s Middle Eastern subsidiary, as part of the Abu Dhabi-based firm’s attempts to reinvent itself as a global technology investor.
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The telco giant, which is also Vodafone Group Plc’s biggest investor, signed a binding agreement with Uber and its regional subsidiary, Careem, to acquire a 50.03% stake in the super app spin-out, according to a statement.
Uber, which acquired Careem in 2020, will remain a shareholder in the new entity and will continue to own all of Careem’s ride-hailing business. All three of Careem’s co-founders will also be shareholders in the super app.
Super apps offer customers a range of services from food delivery to financial services on one platform. Careem’s super app includes a dozen services including food and grocery delivery, remittances and third-party services such as laundry. Careem is available in 10 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Careem will use the new funds to expand its services across the region.
Careem started raising funds for its super app over a year ago, Bloomberg previously reported. But since then, technology firms have found it more difficult to attract investment after rising interest rates marked the end of cheap money.
Saudi Super App Startup ToYou Hires Moelis to Help Raise Funds
In the Middle East, investors are increasingly backing these type of startups: Algeria’s Yassir secured $150 million last year to expand its super app, the UAE’s Astra Tech bought the Gulf region’s most popular voice-calling app, Botim, earlier this year and Saudi Arabia’s ToYou recently hired Moelis & Co. to raise funds, Bloomberg reported.
Vodafone’s Top Backer Hunts for Global Deals in Quest for Growth
Emirates Telecom — previously known as Etisalat and now rebranded as e& — is seeking to reinvent itself as a global technology investor for which it has the “capacity and the wallet” to do so, the group’s chief executive officer recently told Bloomberg TV. Last year, it became Vodafone’s biggest investor.
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